Deadly European Storm Threatens Huge Tidal Surge

Hamburg's historic fish auction hall Fischmarkt is flooded by the water of the Elbe river on December 06, 2013 after the storm Xaver reached the northern German city during the night.

PATRICK LUX/AFP/Getty Images

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With five satellites scanning the globe, DigitalGlobe has collected impressive imagery of planet Earth this year. Check out their top 20 images here and then vote for your favorites on their Facebook page . The ones with the most likes will be selected as their Top 5.

DigitalGlobe collage via DNews

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The Citadel of Aleppo, a medieval fortified palace, in Aleppo, Syria on May 26, 2013.

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An island within an island -- this view shows a section of the Pearl-Qatar in Doha, an artificial island covering about 4 square kilometers, or 400 hectares, imaged on March 4, 2013.

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Pakistan's new island off the Gwadar coast imaged on Sept. 29, 2013. See more images of the earthquake-induced island here .

A “green tide” eddy is seen near the city of Sur, Oman, on Feb. 13, 2013.

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Is the river elevated? Though this satellite image makes it look like the Colorado River is floating above the terrain in Utah on April 22, 2013, a rotaion of the image 90 degrees puts it back into a more normal perspective.

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View Caption+#10: The Schooner Cays, Bahamas, on May 26, 2013.

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The Great Barrier Reef in Australia on April 22, 2013. Australia is struggling with port development that risks putting the already damaged reef in further endangerment.
Analysis: Australia's Great Barrier Reef On Watch

The large-scale art work “Wish” in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 3, 2013.
Analysis: Largest Land Art 'Wish' Comes True In Ireland

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This year marks the 400th anniversary of André Le Nôtre, the gardner that first revolutionized France with his lush landscape at Nicolas Fouquet's Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte and then went on to design the gardens for King Louis XIV at the Palace of Versailles, imaged here on Aug. 20, 2013.
The young king, 22, enjoyed the luxury that Fouquet's gardner produced, but was so jealous of the proprietor of Vaux-le-Vicomte, and fearful of his ambitions that he had Fouquet imprisoned for life with the Man in the Iron Mask.

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Where's Gulliver? How quickly can you find the trapped fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver shown here in the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park in Valencia, Spain? Image captured on July 19, 2013.

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Check out Hong Kong, China, imaged here on May 9, 2013. Did you spot the giant rubber duck?

Winds of up to 142 miles per hour (228 kilometres per hour) were recorded in Scotland and Britain's environment agency said the "surge along the east coast of England is expected to be the worst for more than 60 years."

John Curtin, the Environment Agency's head of incident management, said: "Flooding of coastal communities along the eastern and north west coasts is expected into Friday. Some defences could be overtopped by the combined effect of high tides, high winds and a large tidal surge."

The Met Office said late Thursday that winds were easing but the dangers of a storm surge would remain with high tides expected at around 0900GMT Friday.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled across northern Europe while rail and ferry services were shut down and one of Europe's longest bridges -- connecting Sweden to Denmark -- was closed.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he had convened the government's emergency committee to ensure necessary measures were being taken, amid fears of a repeat of a 1953 storm surge which killed more than 2,000 people in northern Europe.

In Britain, a lorry driver died when his vehicle toppled onto a number of cars in Scotland, while a man riding a mobility scooter was struck by a falling tree in Nottinghamshire, central England.

Two sailors were reportedly swept overboard from a ship off the southern Swedish coast on Thursday. Air-sea rescue services failed to find them.

In western Denmark, a 72-year-old woman died after strong winds tipped over the van she was driving.

The biggest fear across Europe was from a potentially devastating storm surge which will coincide with high tides.